Date of Submission

3-10-2018

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

OIP Defense Chair

Dr. Elan Paulson

Keywords

Equity, French Immersion, Core French, System Inequity, Distributed Leadership, Fixed-Mindset Theory

Abstract

My Organizational Improvement Plan examines the systemic inequity between the Core French Program and the French Immersion Program in Ontario secondary schools. Leadership, in the form of Principals, can play a significant role in this issue. Principals who prioritize the equitable distribution of resources and professional development in French Immersion settings may positively impact teacher efficacy; however, in Core French settings, Principals’ realm of priorities often lies in other curriculum areas.

Various researchers, such as Lapkin (2003) and Mady (2010), have looked at the systemic inequity between the two French programs. It has been shown that there is a disproportionate amount of support when comparing French Immersion and Core French programs. The use of Distributed Leadership (Spillane, 2005) as a leadership approach and the Mindset Theory (Dweck, 2006) as a leadership theory are presented as possible solutions to be used by principals to address this discrepancy.

A comprehensive analysis of the Distributed Leadership approach (Spillane, 2005) and the Servant Leadership approach (Greenleaf, 2012) and their specific implementation in my organization are presented. Similarly, the use of professional leadership teams as a way to further implement these approaches is discussed.

The information presented in my Organizational Improvement Plan is useful, since it provides school organizations, a path to start making a change for greater equity between the two French programs. Future recommendations are also presented.

Share

COinS